Goma, DR Congo - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrapped up
a two-day visit to war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo Sunday,
repeatedly lashing out at those responsible for the epidemic of
sexual violence and rape in the vast Central African country.
Standing in the Kibati II refugee camp, 10 kilometres outside the
provincial capital Goma, Ban expressed his anger and pledged that the
UN would prioritize the issue.
'(This visit) has allowed me to meet with many sexually abused and
internally displaced people and it has given me resolve,' he said.
As many as five million people have died in the wars that have
ravaged the region since 1998. Humanitarian organizations estimate
that millions have fled their homes and hundreds of thousands raped.
The Kibati II camp is home to 20,000 Congolese displaced during
recent fighting in North Kivu.
On Saturday, the secretary general visited the Heal Africa
hospital in Goma, the site of thousands of fistula repair surgeries
for rape victims.
'I am humbled, saddened and shocked by what I have just seen,' a
visibly-shaken Ban said, moments after meeting rape victims inside
the hospital.
The visit came mid-way through the UN leader's five nation African
tour, which began in South Africa and concludes March 2 in the
Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
'Last Monday alone there were ten cases of rape (treated at the
hospital). I am shocked and angered by this. Rape is a crime against
humanity.'
Ban said that he had discussed the issue with Congolese president
Joseph Kabila during a private meeting Saturday, urging him to
confront the 'culture of impunity,' that he said was rampant in the
country. 'Offenders must be prosecuted,' he declared.
Those suspected of rape should be barred from serving in the army
or the police and government leadership is required to address the
crisis, he argued.
Both the army and the police have been accused of widespread
sexual abuse throughout the war. Prosecutions have been virtually
non-existent.
Sunday's visit ended a eventful week in the troubled North Kivu
province.
On Wednesday, nearly five weeks after quietly slipping over the
border to fight Hutu militias in the region, Rwandan troops withdrew.
The Rwandans had been at the fore of the joint military operation
against rebels who fled over the border during the 1994 Rwandan
genocide and regrouped under the banner of the Forces Democratiques
pour la Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR).
War-weary Goma residents cheered as thousands of Rwandan troops
marched through the border city, marking the end of a secretive and
controversial campaign.
'All we want is the war to end,' Julia Wandimoyi, a Goma resident
said as she followed the troops in to the buffer zone between the two
countries' borders. 'With the Rwandans in our country, there would
never be peace.'
Rwanda has invaded the DRC twice since 1994, ostensibly to attack
the FDLR, whose leadership has vowed to return and overthrow the
Rwandan government, restoring political power to the Hutu majority in
the country.
Several UN reports examining the war, the latest in December 2008,
have accused Rwandan officials and businessmen of profiting from the
invasions to secure concessions in the Eastern Congo's lucrative
mining industry, a charge Kigali strongly denies.
FDLR fighters, many of whom participated in the 1994 Rwandan
genocide, have staged numerous attacks over the border since they
arrived in the DRC.
The group allegedly has 6000 soldiers and are financed by their
own control of mines throughout the DRC.
Since late January, Rwandan and Congolese forces have attacked the
FDLR throughout Eastern DRC, attempting to disperse them and
eliminate their financing network.
MONUC, the United Nations peace keeping mission in the country,
was initially excluded from the planning, but later joined, providing
logistics and equipment.
Congolese and Rwandan authorities report that 90 FDLR fighters
have been killed and over 5000 Rwandan exiles have been repatriated.
But others fear that the new stage of the operation, led by the
Congolese and supported by MONUC, will allow space for retribution
killings in FDLR occupied areas - not unlike those which have
occurred in the Northern DRC where Congolese, Ugandan and South
Sudanese troops are currently pursuing Uganda's Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA).
Over 900 civilians have been slaughtered by LRA fighters since
mid-December.
Earlier in the week, the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees warned that FDLR reprisal killings were on the rise,
reporting that 32 people have been killed and 3000 displaced during
recent attacks.
On Sunday, Ban supported the ongoing operation. 'The biggest
concern in the DRC is the lack of security. Even though the displaced
want to return, they know they may be attacked by the FDLR. We must
ensure this does not happen.'
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